


Imaginary

by I_mNotYourEnemy



Category: Young Avengers
Genre: AU, Imaginary Friends, M/M, i don't know why i did this to myself
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-02-14
Updated: 2013-02-14
Packaged: 2017-11-29 07:47:38
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/684546
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_mNotYourEnemy/pseuds/I_mNotYourEnemy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's a new imaginary friend at the hospital today. Or at least Billy assumes he's imaginary. The green skin kind of gives him away.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Imaginary

**Author's Note:**

> So I read Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend (which I would highly recommend) and my mind came up with this. It didn't turn out as well as I wanted it to but, meh. Take it.
> 
> I don't think I really clarified it but Teddy and Billy are about ten years old in this.

The most irritating thing about being an imaginary friend is that most of the world passes you without ever noticing your presence. Billy has grown used to this over the years, although it would be nice to talk to someone other than Tommy. Tommy needs him and Billy loves the boy, but only being able to interact with one human on the entire planet is somewhat frustrating. He supposed he could talk to other imaginary friends but most are new to world and aren’t imagined to be particularly smart. Billy is different. He’s been alive for longer than was normal for an imaginary friend, although this is only because Tommy needs him and will continue to need him until he’s fixed. Billy doesn’t think he’ll be fixed for a while.

Another thing that is unusual about Billy is that he knows he is imaginary. He’s known almost from the beginning of his existence. It hadn’t taken him long to figure out the powers Tommy had imagined him with; he is able to create and manipulate imaginary items and could also teleport. Tommy is very imaginative, which sort of made up for the lack of creativity in looks. To start with, Billy had assumed he was Tommy’s brother. They look identical, except that Billy sports amber eyes and dark hair which contrasts to the white mess atop Tommy’s head. After a short breakdown over the fact that his ‘parents’ would not look at him, Tommy had gotten angry at Billy and had told him that he is imaginary. This is also strange. When children realise their friends are not real, they fade from existence. Billy did not. Tommy knows Billy is not real but still believes in him because he needs him.

Tommy’s in the hospital now but he’s in the hospital so much that it’s stopped surprising Billy. Tommy doesn’t talk much about what happened to him before but Billy can hear the doctors speak when they think no one else is around. They talk about ‘psychiatric trauma’ and ‘mental abuse’. Billy is smart but he doesn’t really know what this means because he only knows what Tommy knows and the things he sees and hears around him. He does know that something bad happened to Tommy before he existed. Someone did something bad to him and Tommy had and suffered. Tommy’s parents are not his real parent’s; they adopted Tommy and took him away from a bad place. They take him to the hospital after school on Tuesdays. Sometimes Billy has to remind Tommy not to take the bus home on Tuesdays because he forgets that his dad picks him up. Tommy doesn’t like the bus. It’s loud and there are too many people.

Tommy’s not in the hospital to see the man he doesn’t like with the name he can’t pronounce who asks far too many uncomfortable questions. If he was, then Billy would be home by now. Technically he could go home at any time he wants to, since he can teleport, but he doesn’t want to leave Tommy. Tommy had been riding his bike when it happened. Billy had been using his magic to levitate himself and fly after Tommy. Tommy likes going fast; it makes him feel free. Billy hadn’t been able to warn him in time. The car’s brakes were not enough and Tommy was left like a fractured doll in the road. Billy had wished he could touch Tommy or make it so other people could hear his screams, but all he could do was wait for other people to help his best friend.

Tommy has woken up a few times but not for very long. Billy likes it when his parents come in and bring his younger brothers. Tommy doesn’t like his brothers very much but he still loves them. This had confused Billy at first but he understands now. Tommy’s brothers are younger than him by a few years but they never fail to make Billy smile. Tommy gets annoyed at him when he laughs at their silly jokes, even though they can’t hear him. Tommy’s parents look sad and happy at the same time whenever they visit Tommy. They’re always here when they’re not at work and stay for as long as they can on weekends. The younger brothers get restless after a while and insist that they leave. Tommy wouldn’t want them in his room anyway.

There are lots of other imaginary friends at the hospital but some of them don’t even acknowledge Billy because he looks so real. Imaginary friends look like however their human thinks they look like. Some are barely a few inches tall, some have wings, some have missing ears or eyelashes, and some barely look human at all. Tommy is good at imagining details so Billy looks just like a human boy. Sometimes he thinks he can touch the human world but he’s always met with disappointment as his hand is stopped by whatever he tries to push. This is how he remembers that he’s imaginary; that, and when Tommy shouts it at him whenever Billy does something wrong.

There are some strange imaginary friends about when Billy is exploring. He never had to stay in the hospital for this long before. Usually it’s only for about an hour and Tommy doesn’t like him to leave during his sessions. He never talks about Billy because he knows what the man will say—he’s not real, it’s just a coping method—but they both know this already. Billy sometimes tells Tommy what to say when he can’t think of a lie fast enough or when he forgets a detail about his day. Tommy likes it when he does this; he has someone to rely on. Now, though, Tommy is asleep and has been asleep for hours. This gives Billy time to further explore the hospital past the section that Tommy’s in. The sign for it said ‘intensive care unit’ so Billy figured that’s where the people who get hit by a car go. There are other places for other accidents. There are the rooms where people only stay for a day or two, the rooms where people always have to be watched, and the rooms with people who sleep even more than Tommy.

The last room, in Billy’s opinion, is the saddest. Visitors come in and sit by their beds and talk to the sleeping person but the sleeping person never wakes up to talk back. This is like with Tommy except sometimes Tommy wakes up if he needs to eat or go to the bathroom. These people don’t even wake up for that.

There’s a new person in today and with her came a new imaginary friend. The girl in the bed looks about Tommy’s age, although she’s probably younger. Girls always look older than they actually are. She has very pale skin and long blonde hair but it looks like it needs to be washed. She would be very pretty if she didn’t look so sickly. Her imaginary friend is a boy, which is strange in itself. Girls usually imagine girl imaginary friends. Billy could tell he was an imaginary friend because although his blonde hair is tousled and his blue eyes look convincingly human, his skin is green—not just tinged green, but completely green. He notices Billy staring at him and his brows furrow. Billy offers the boy the slightest of smiles and approaches him hesitantly. He never really knows how to go about introducing himself to other imaginary friends; sometimes they know what they are and sometimes they don’t. Billy remembers the first time he visited the hospital and one imaginary friend got very angry at Billy for asking how long she’d existed. He’d just assumed that since her face was a flower and she was missing both ears and a nose, she knew she was imaginary. He’s been very careful since that day.

He sits opposite the green boy. He’s the boy version of pretty but Billy can’t remember what the word is, only that boys don’t like to be called ‘pretty’. He stares at Billy, who stares back until he breaks the eye contact uncomfortably. He glances down to the girl. He wouldn’t be so worried if she was just sleeping, but if she was just sleeping then she wouldn’t be here.

“What happened to her?” asks Billy, looking back to the boy. The dim light in the room reflects off the row of metal rings that line his ear. Billy didn’t notice this before.

“I don’t know. I think she’s sick but I don’t know what with. It’s worse than the flu. The doctors say she might not wake up.” His voice sounds as though it’s best suited for joy but is weighed down with sorrow.

A frown tugs at Billy’s lips; he can’t imagine what it must be like. He knows there’s something wrong with Tommy but his doctors say that it can be fixed. He’s being fixed right now. His bones are setting and wounds are healing, and soon enough he’ll be back to running around and causing general chaos. “I’m sorry,” he replies, although he wasn’t entirely sure this is the correct response. He just doesn’t want to make a fool of himself.

“It’s okay,” says the green boy. “I’m Teddy, by the way. This is Anelle.”

“Teddy,” Billy repeats, testing the name on his tongue. It sounds nice but he doesn’t voice the thought aloud. “I’m Billy.”

Teddy smiles brightly to Billy, much brighter than Billy thought he could, considering the current situation. “Nice to meet you, Billy.”

“Do you—uh, do you know?” asks Billy hesitantly. It was often a sore subject for the friends who had yet to come to terms with their reality.

“I know I’m not real,” replies Teddy. He smiles a lot. Billy likes that. “For starters, I’m green.” Billy gives a soft laugh at this, which only makes Teddy smile wider. “You look so real. I wasn’t too sure until you started talking to me.”

“I look like Tommy—he’s my friend—except Tommy has white hair. He’s in ICU now.”

Teddy’s head tilts to the side, his brows drawn in evident confusion. “What’s ICU?”

Billy raises his shoulders in a small shrug. “I don’t really know. I think it’s where people who get hit by cars go.”

“Tommy got hit by a car?”

“He was on a bike.”

Teddy’s brows dip deeper. “He got hit by a bike?”

“No,” says Billy. “He was on a bike and then got hit by a car. He’s got broken bones and lots of bruises but the doctors say he’ll be fine.”

“That’s good.”

A comfortable silence lapses between and Billy feels more at ease now. He isn’t shy; he’s just generally inept at socialising until someone draws him into a conversation that he feels is worthwhile. Billy hates small talk but this is probably just because Tommy hates small talk too, just like he hates carrots. Billy doesn’t know whether he likes carrots or not; he can’t touch them.

“I’ve never talked to another imaginary friend before,” says Teddy quietly. He’s looking back at Anelle, as if she may vanish if he takes his eyes off her. Billy wonders whether he’s just watching her because she might be gone soon.

“I have but I haven’t talked to many lately.” Teddy’s gaze flickers up to him questioningly before returning to the unconscious girl. “A lot of imaginary friends aren’t smart enough to know what they are and they get angry at me. I learnt that imaginary friends can touch each other when one boy got really angry at me and beat me up. He only left when he got bored. No one could hear me so no one could help.”

This makes Teddy frown. Billy makes a mental note to not make Teddy frown again. The other’s cheerfulness is contagious but so is his sadness. “You won’t get beaten up again. I’ll protect you.”

Billy is somewhat surprised by this; he’d been half expecting Teddy to tell him that he should’ve fought back. He’d tried to but he hadn’t been imagined to be very strong and he doesn’t like using his powers for harm. “Why? I can protect myself.”

“We’re friends, right? Friends protect each other.”

“We only just met,” Billy points out. He’d never made a friend away from Tommy before, so he doesn’t really know how this goes.

“I only knew Anelle for a short time before I was her friend.” Billy doesn’t question this logic. After all, that is the purpose of their existence—to be friends. “What’s Tommy like?”

Billy asks why Teddy wants to know but Teddy says that he just wants to take his mind off things. Billy does not question further and instead answers the other’s query. He tells Teddy about Tommy. He tells Teddy about how he can run really fast and doesn’t like people touching him and how he doesn’t hold hands or hug people and how he doesn’t like talking about feelings, even when the man he doesn’t like with the name he can’t pronounce who asks far too many uncomfortable questions bribes him. He tells Teddy about how Tommy isn’t okay in the head but how it doesn’t matter because his parents-who-are-not-really-his-parents love him no matter what. He tells Teddy about how he can read three books in one day and still have time for video games and how his teachers say he has ‘great potential’ and how he stands up to the bullies at school. Billy thinks Tommy is one of the bravest boys he knows but he’s never told Tommy this. Tommy doesn’t like being complimented. ‘Compliments are for girls’, as he would say.

Teddy doesn’t talk as Billy babbles on about his friend. Billy doesn’t even know if he’s listening. He eventually trails off when he runs out of things to say that don’t go into the ‘never repeat this ever’ territory, but Teddy doesn’t notice. He’s still staring at Anelle. Nothing’s changed about her; her breathing is still constant and the beeping machine is still beeping. Billy stares at the tubes going into her skin and coming from her nose. He’s seen them on the other patients but the doctors never say what they are.

“What do the tubes do?” he asks.

Teddy jumps slightly but recovers quickly. “This one,” he points to the tube going into Anelle’s left arm, “is for food, I think. It doesn’t look like very tasty food but she never complains about it. And this one,” he points to the tubes by her nose, “makes her breathe.”

“Doesn’t she breathe normally?”

“I don’t know.”

Billy doesn’t know what to say after this. He’s used to silences from Tommy when he wants to concentrate on his book or focus on running. Billy usually just watches him from the side-lines or reads the book over his shoulder. He doesn’t know what to do with sad people who don’t act like Tommy. Teddy acts more like the other boys in Tommy’s class; the ones who don’t have ‘difficulties’. He speaks what he thinks instead of keeping it inside or masking it with insults.

Billy stands suddenly and walks around to the other side of the bed, to Teddy’s side. He feels a little less brave without the barrier between them, but he persists anyway. They were friends—Teddy had said so himself.

“Do you want to look around the hospital?”

Teddy looks up at him and then nods. He stands too and smiles to Billy, indicating for him to lead onwards. The doors in hospital that aren’t for grown up private rooms are always left open, almost like they know imaginary friends want to move around. Billy doesn’t know whether Teddy can teleport or walk through walls but he doesn’t ask. They walk through the open doorways and Billy pretends not to see when Teddy takes a few moments to look back at Anelle.

“How long have you been here?” Teddy asks as Billy expertly navigates his way through the maze of hallways.

“Only a few days but Tommy comes here a lot.” He passes by the desk where a few nurses are gathered, chatting in the high but whispered voices that Billy finds quite irritating. “You weren’t here before.”

“Nelle’s been ill for a while but she got worse about a week ago,” explains Teddy. “Her dad moved her here so she can live longer. He always looks sad but he never cries.”

“Tommy

“Are you sad?”

Teddy takes a moment to respond, but even then he only offers a small nod. Billy doesn’t persist with the questioning.

As they explore the lower floors of the hospitals, they fall into a relaxed routine. They share the knowledge they’ve accumulated from their existence and Billy is slightly surprised to find out that Teddy’s been alive almost as long as he has. It’s logical, though, he reminds himself afterwards; sick children don’t usually have many friends so they like to keep their imaginary friends around. The imaginary friends of sick children don’t fade because they’re not believed in any more. The fade because their friend dies. Billy hopes Teddy doesn’t fade.

Teddy opens up more as they make their way into the cafeteria and Billy reciprocates this. Teddy talks about his favourite cartoons that Anelle watches and the books he likes the look of but can’t read unless Anelle turns the pages for him, which she’s been too weak to do for a while.  He knows lots about television because Anelle goes to bed early and Teddy goes downstairs when she’s asleep. Anelle’s mom watches the television every night and Teddy watches it with her. Billy begins to lose his default politeness and hesitance when their conversation reaches more familiar ground, and his attitude becomes more familiar and friendly. The two talk excitedly about the shows both watch and Billy even summarises the past few episodes for Teddy since he’s not been able to go home for a while. They even dissolve into a fit of laughter when the subtle references and in-jokes get too much.

The cafeteria has a few other imaginary friends in it, although barely any of them even glance at Teddy and Billy. They mostly ignore them, save for a glare or two. The fact that imaginary friends, while their sole purpose was to be friends, seldom interacted with one another has always struck Billy as odd. A few are overly cheerful and get shot down by the older friends and some don’t even know they can talk to others. Billy doesn’t mind so much now because he has Teddy to be with. They can’t eat any of the food in the cafeteria but it’s one of the more interesting rooms; a lot of the people here are healthy and talkative which is a nice change to the sombre silences that hangs over the upper floors.

“Does Tommy watch the Spider-Man cartoon?” Teddy asks, his hands in the pockets of his jeans as he walks alongside Billy.

“Which one?”

“The new one.”

Billy nods. “Yeah. He says it’s stupid but that actually means he likes it in Tommy-speak.”

Teddy grins at this. “Anelle’s gonna have a lot of catching up to do if she wakes up.”

“When,” Billy corrects.

There’s a certain glint in Teddy’s eyes that somewhat confuses Billy. It’s not sad but it’s not exactly happy either. “Right. When she wakes up.”

Billy feels more confident around Teddy than he does with anyone else and it requires too much thought to figure out why. Emotions can be complex and befuddling and, in all honesty, Billy would rather just talk to Teddy than analyse his every movement and word. Teddy is full of casual laughs and lazy grins which almost makes Billy forget why he was even here. It's difficult to perceive the solemnity of their location when even the lamest of Billy’s jokes receive a chuckle.

“I should get back to Tommy,” Billy says, glancing to the clock at the end of the hall. They’re at the place where people can see their skeletons and he doesn’t think it’s too far from Tommy’s room. “Do you want to meet him?” he adds afterwards but immediately berates himself mentally for asking. His tone had sounded awkward and the pause between his comments had been too long and—

“Sure.”

Leave it to Teddy to vanquish all of Billy’s anxieties.

With a flickering grin and a small nod, Billy begins to lead the way to Tommy’s room. He’s glad for the constant signposting of areas; he’s not sure he’d be able to traverse the hospital quite as easily without them. It’d be rather embarrassing for him to get both himself and Teddy lost within the vast hallways.

The journey to Tommy’s room is short and filled with a companionable quietness. Billy has to stop himself jumping whenever Teddy’s hand brushes against his—completely accidentally, of course. Teddy mostly looks around as they approach the right corridor. He said he’d only seen hospitals on TV shows before. Anelle apparently has a doctor that goes to her house to check she’s okay, which evidently she isn’t. She only goes to hospital when it’s really bad but Teddy doesn’t like to talk about it so Billy doesn’t ask. He just talks about Iron Man instead.

Tommy’s room is just like any other patient’s room; it’s white and everything always looks clean, but Tommy has a few books and essential belongings scattered about the place. He’s asleep, which Billy had expected, and is breathing very deeply. His chest rises and falls with each breath and his mouth is slightly parted. His hair is in disarray, as it usually is when his mother isn’t there to fuss with it, and Billy had almost forgotten about his casts. He walks into the room without hesitation and motions for Teddy to join him. Tommy would probably not want others invading his space but as far as Billy knows, he should not be able to see Teddy.

“He looks a lot like you,” Teddy observes, and Billy resists the urge to point out that he’s stating the obvious.

“I look a lot like him,” replies Billy, moving to stand by Tommy’s bed. He looks almost peaceful in his slumber and Billy wants to reach out and touch him. He knows he can’t, though; he never can.

“Would he like me?”

It’s an odd question, and one Billy hadn’t expected, but he nods anyway. “He doesn’t like many people but I think he’d like you. Or he’d try to. You’re my friend and he’s my friend so I think he would make an effort.”

This makes Teddy’s lips curve in a vaguely secretive smile. His eyes are fixed on Tommy and he seems oblivious to Billy’s blatant staring. At least, that is, until his gaze rises to meet Billy’s, causing a faint flush to creep up Billy’s neck.

“I need to go back to Nelle soon. Her dad comes here every day at five. I don’t wanna miss him.”

“That’s okay.” Billy feels somewhat guilty for pulling Teddy away from Anelle, but he supposes he’d been successful in distracting him from thinking about the inevitable and even restoring some hope.

“I’ll be back tomorrow, though,” says Teddy, offering Billy another one of his smiles. Billy mirrors the action.

Teddy edges towards the door but he’s hesitant about leaving. A few nurses pass by him in the hall, momentarily distracting him as he seems to think something over. After a moment or two, he walks back to Billy and pulls him into his arms. Billy, despite being reasonably shocked, wills life into his limbs as he returns the embrace.

“Thank you,” Teddy murmurs against Billy’s ear. Billy doesn’t ask what he’s being thanked for; he thinks he knows.

The next day rolls around with the same mundaneness as the others. Tommy is groggy when his parents stop by before work but they don’t stay for long. Billy talks senselessly at him to fill the silence between them and he can see that Tommy doesn’t mind. He often tolerates Billy’s inane babbling and sometimes even questions him on some of the things he says.

“Who’s Teddy?”

“Hmm?”

“Teddy,” Tommy repeats, shuffling to sit further up the bed. “You mentioned someone called Teddy.”

“Oh.” Billy pauses as he tries to think of how to explain his friendship—connection?—with the other imaginary friend. “I met him yesterday. He’s like me.”

“Imaginary?”

“Yeah. He’s a bit taller than me and blonde and green-skinned.”

“Can I see him?” asks Tommy, his eyes alight with curiosity.

“I don’t think so.” Tommy doesn’t look too dissatisfied with the answer. “You should rest. Doctor Lang told your parents about some tests they’re gonna do later on.”

Tommy flinches slightly at this, but he covers it well. “What kind of tests?”

“Just blood tests, I think. Maybe something to do with mobility, too.”

“Okay.”

Billy waits until Tommy’s breathing evens out before leaving. Tommy’s recovery apparently involves lots of rest so his body can work on fixing itself instead of staying awake and doing other things. Tommy sleeps a lot, anyway. He likes to run around so much that he wears himself out before the day’s over. He’ll be fine if he wakes up without Billy, though. He’ll want to get through the tests as quickly as possible and then he’ll probably try to sweet-talk his way into getting Nurse Bishop to give him extra dessert.

Billy’s feet guide him through the halls as his mind is otherwise occupied. Had he been more focused, he could’ve easily teleported to the area with Anelle’s bed, but he is too caught up in turning over the previous day’s events in his mind. After Teddy left, Billy had waited with Tommy until his parents arrived. He watched on as they went through the usual routine of conversing and eating, before finally wishing Tommy a good night. Billy had little time between then and falling asleep to think.

When he turns into the sleeping area, Billy’s first thought is that he has the wrong room. He keeps an eye out for a spot of green but Teddy is nowhere to be seen.

No, it must be the right room. That boy was there yesterday and the lady in the red scarf is still curled up on the chair.

Anelle’s bed is this one. It used to have a picture of her family near it and a worried boy occupying the space beside it.

Maybe she’s been moved.

Maybe she’s woken up.

Maybe she’s gone home.

Billy jumps as a doctor walks past him, calling to another on the other side of the room. He follows him, mostly out of curiosity but also because a sense of foreboding draws him near. He doesn’t want to think about it but a small voice is screaming at him inside his head.

Is this what it feels like? To lose someone?

“Hey, you finished the paperwork on Anelle?”

“Nah. I’m gonna get to it during my break. God, I hate it when a kid dies.”

Dies.

Fades.

There was no tomorrow for Teddy.


End file.
